1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate treatment system performing treatment on a substrate, a substrate transfer method in the substrate treatment system and a non-transitory computer storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a photolithography process in manufacturing processes of a semiconductor device, a series of treatments such as resist coating treatment of applying a resist solution onto a wafer to form a resist film, exposure processing of exposing the resist film to a predetermined pattern, developing treatment of developing the exposed resist film and so on are sequentially performed, whereby a predetermined resist pattern is formed on the wafer. The series of treatments are performed in a coating and developing treatment system being a substrate treatment system in which various kinds of treatment units treating the wafer and transfer units transferring the wafer are installed.
For example, a coating and developing treatment system 200 conventionally includes a cassette station 201 for transferring a cassette C in/out from/to the outside, a treatment station 202 in which a plurality of treatment units that perform various treatments such as resist coating treatment, developing treatment, and thermal treatment are provided at multiple tiers, and an interface station 203 that delivers a wafer between an exposure unit E and the treatment station 202 adjacent thereto, which are integrally provided as illustrated in FIG. 18 (Patent Document 1).
In the cassette station 201, cassette mounting plates 210 on which cassettes C transferred in from the outside are mounted, and a wafer transfer mechanism 211 that transfers the wafers between the cassettes C on the cassette mounting plates 210 and the treatment station 202 is provided. Further, on the cassette station 201 side in the treatment station 202, a delivery block 212 that temporarily houses substrates to be transferred from the cassette mounting plates 210 to the treatment station and substrates to be transferred between tiers of the treatment units is provided. In the delivery block 212, delivery units (not illustrated) that temporarily mount wafers thereon are provided at multiple tiers in the up-down direction. In the delivery block 212, another wafer transfer mechanism 213 that exclusively transfers a wafer between tiers at the delivery units is provided adjacent to the delivery block 212.
At the time when the wafer treatment is performed in the coating and developing treatment system 200, a cassette C housing a plurality of wafers in one lot is mounted first on a predetermined cassette mounting plate 210. Then, the wafers in the cassette C are successively transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism 211 to the delivery block 212. Each of the wafers is then transferred to the treatment station 202 and the exposure unit E and treated, and the wafer for which treatment has been finished is returned by the wafer transfer mechanism 211 from the treatment station 202 to the cassette C on the cassette mounting plate 210.    Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-278027